Submitted by Brooks Addicott The Park City Ski Team Education Foundation hosted an elite field of international athletes at the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association's Western Region Tech Series, held Jan. 27-30 on the Park City Ski Team's home courses at

PCMR welcomes elite skiers

Submitted by Brooks Addicott The Park City Ski Team Education Foundation hosted an elite field of international athletes at the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association's Western Region Tech Series, held Jan. 27-30 on the Park City Ski Team's home courses at

"These are big races. Even those who do not follow ski racing on a regular basis can appreciate these athletes represent the highest level of international alpine competition," said Park City Ski Team Director Jesse Hunt. "I am both incredibly proud of our racers and hugely thankful to Karen Korfanta and her race crew for helping us execute four days of world-class racing."

On Sunday, Austria’s David Herzog (1:59.18) placed first in the giant slalom race; Norwegian Simon Ruud (1:59.47) was second, and American Nick Cohee (2:00.53), who races for the University of Utah, was third. Park City Ski Team (PCST) racer Samuel DuPratt (2:03.48) skied to an impressive 11th place, while his teammate, Hayes Graham, (2:05.52) placed 20th out of the field of 110 men.

Monday’s races were not for the faint of heart. Canadian Andrew Trow (2:01.53) skied to a first-place finish, barely edging out America’s Cohee (2:01.56). A mere one one-thousandth of a second was all that separated second-place Cohee from Austria’s Herzog (2:01.57), who placed third. PSCT’s DuPratt (2:03.19) repeated his solid performance of Sunday with an 11th place finish, while DuPratt’s teammate, Kiernan Adams (2:05.08), came from the back of the pack to finish a respectable 22nd.

A storm dropped several inches of new snow Tuesday, making for more challenging conditions for the ladies’ race that day. Finland’s Kristina Rove (2:23.19), another University of Utah racer, took first. American Breezy Johnson (2:36.32) placed second. Slovene Ana Kobal (2:37.68), who also skis for the Utes, placed third. As hometown fans looked on, Park City Ski Team’s Sophia Frankenburg (2:40.92) skied to a fourth-place finish overall, while her teammates, Hannah Hunsaker (2:41.24) and Katy Greene (2:41.84) finished in fifth and ninth place, respectively.

Racers faced poor visibility but solid snow conditions during the final GS races held on Wednesday. Norway’s Tonje Seske (2:35.51) won the race. Ana Kobal (2:35.79) again took the podium, this time finishing second. Breezy Johnson (2:36.05) took third. Former PCST racer Jamie DuPratt (2:37.94), sister of Sam, placed fifth overall. The big comeback of the day came from PCST’s Katy Greene, who overcame a 21st-place finish in the first run to finish tenth overall. Hannah Hunsaker (2:39.42) was right behind her teammate, placing 11th.